Method of lasting single piece semless uppers



E. TUMINO 3,082,450

METHOD OF LASTING SINGLE PIECE SEAMLESS UPPERS March 26, 1963 Filed Oct. 6, 1961 ilnited htates i atent @tircc BfihZASh Patented Mar. 26, 1963 3,032,450 METHQD F LASTKNG SDIGLE PIECE SEAMLESS LTPERS Emanueie Turntno, 7235 N. Western Ave, Chicago, ill. Filed Oct. 6, 1361, Ser. No. 143,372 1 @lairn. (Cl. 12-145) This invention relates to a shoe upper and to a method by which it is made.

For many years shoe uppers have been made from two or more pieces of leather sewn together in various patterns and fitted over a last having the desired shape. In a great many instances the various pieces of leather are not of the same quality and softness, and in a great many cases various reinforcing members are used at the heel or too or both to provide rigidity over these areas and to assist in maintaining a predetermined shape for the shoe upper. A shoe must flex when it is worn, if it is to be comfortable, but the flexing will, of course, take place over those regions where the resistance to flexing is the least. Where seams are present, resistance to flexing is increased at the seams so that the flexing must take place in the areas between seams. This often causes localized pressure areas on the wearers foot, which results in discomfort and at times actual pain as the shoe is Worn.

To avoid the creation of localized pressure areas in a shoe upper, the trend in shoe designs has been toward eliminating seams and devices which reinforce or rigidify the material of the uppers. Along with the elimination of seams has come the realization that the appearance of a shoe may be enhanced by providing a continuous seamless contour for a shoe upper which adds to the sleekness of the shoe.

The trend toward elimination of seams in shoe uppers appears to have been halted, insofar as the prior art of which I am aware is concerned, with a single piece upper which is sewn together at the heel to provide a single vertical seam. This seam, however, reduces the flexibility and comfort of the shoe and detracts from its appearance.

An object of thisinvention is the provision of a shoe upper made from a single piece of material, such as leather, without the presence of seams to give the upper form or rigidity.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a method of forming a shoe upper from a single piece of leather Without requiring that certain areas of such single piece be sewn together to give the upper its form.

Inasmuch as the sewing of a seam is a separate operation in the making of a shoe upper, requiring the expenditure of an operators time, as well as use of sewing equipment, the reduction in the number of sewing operations required to produce 2. upper reduces correspondingly the expense in producing a shoe, and accordingly, it is another object of this invention to provide a shoe upper which is less expensive to make.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear view in perspective of the finished shoe having a semnless upper made in accordance with this invention;

H6. 2 is a master pattern to be used for cutting the leather blank from which the seamless upper is made;

FIG. 3 is a leather blank cut in accordance with the pattern of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view partly in section of the blank of FIG. 3, stretched over a last;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the stretched leather upper and last of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the last on which the single 7 piece seamless upper is in shaping the upper over a last. It is necessary in this operation to draw the leather of which the upper is made over a last, and to secure the bottom edges of the leather to the under side of the last by tacking or other process. In drawing the leather down on the last, it is necessary that the upper regions of the leather be restrained in moving downwardly along the last so that the leather can be properly stretched and formed. If the leather is tacked down above the heel area, then it is difficult to stretch the leather evenly away from the tacked area and particularly downwardly along the sides of the shoe upper. If the leather is not tacked above the heel area, then there is not sutficient restraint upon the leather to control its stretching and shaping.

In the present invention, the former difiiculties have been obviated by the manner in which the blank from which the upper is made is shaped relative to the last on which it is formed. The central opening in the blank through which the horn of the last extends is made smaller than would normally be expected, to provide excess leather at the heel end. Said heel end is then permitted to overlap a horizontal upper portion of the last located above the heel of the last. This overlap of the horizontal upper portion of the last serves as an anchor to hold the leather against slipping downward along the last as it is worked and stretched around the heel portion thereof, but at the same time permits movement of the leather forward as it is stretched over the toe regions of the last. In other words, it distributes the stresses in the leather more evenly throughout the upper and hence promotes uniformity in the shaping of the leather.

Referring to FIG. 2, the pattern used to form a seamless single piece upper for a mans oxford, for example, may take the shape shown in FIG. 2. The pattern is generally oval in shape, the long axis of the pattern terminating in a heel region 11 and a toe region 12. A relatively narrow slot 13 is cut in the pattern, said slot 13 being substantially equidistantly spaced from the sides 14'! and 15 of the pattern and being disposed closer to the heel area 11 than to the toe area 12. The end to of slot 13 is approximately at the center of curvature of the edge 17 defining the heel area 11 of the pattern.

Although slot 13 represents the opening in the shoe through which the wearers foot is to be inserted, said slot is far too small at this stage to accommodate a wearers foot, and accordingly the central region of the upper through which the wearers foot is to be inserted has at this stage excess material which is utilized to assist in forming the single piece seamless upper.

The leather blank which is cut from the pattern of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 3. The material is preferably a leather of fine quality, which will take stretching without rupturing. inasmuch as the leather has a natural grain, that is, it has substantially parallel lines of weakness, I have found that to insure the success of the subsequent stretching operation of the blank, the latter must be cut in such manner that the grain is substantially parallel to the long axis of the oval contour thereof.

The blank of FIG. 3 is placed over a shoe last 27 as shown in FIG. 4 and is first secured by tacks or otherwise to the heel of the last. Said last has substantially the shape of the finished shoe upper, with the exception of excess material in the ankle region of the wearer. Said last is provided with a horn 13 which is passed through the 5 forward end 19 (FIG. 3) of the opening 22 in the leather blank. Horn 18 extends above the heel portion 20 of the last, the latter having a substantially horizontal surface 21 extending under the opening 122i in the blank, and also under a portion of the heel area 23 thereof. Thus there is a portion 24 of the heel area 23 which overlaps or overlies the surface 21 of the last.

The outer edges 25 of the blank are drawn forwardly 3 v and down tightly around the lower edges of the last, and are then secured by tacks 26, or otherwise, to the under side of the last 27. The downward pressure or pull on the blank in the heel area is resisted by the overlapping portion 24- of the blank adjacent opening 22, and hence whatever pull or force is necessary to perform the shaping operation on the heel region of the blank may be safely exerted on the heel area without causing the blank to slip on the last. There is furthermore a force exerted on the overlapping area 24 tending to extend the slot rearwardly, but the strength of the leather is suliicient to resist tearing or splitting at this point.

After the blank has been securely fastened to the last, the blank may then be processed to completion in the usual manner. The upper may be cut in any manner to result in the formation of an oxford, fior example, such as the one shown in FIG. 1, or given the form commonly known as a loafer, or any other desired form. The edge 23 embracing the ankle region of the wearer may be finished in the usual manner by folding over and stitching, or otherwise. Instead of the oxford or loafer design, the shoe upper may, with the use of an appropriate last, be made higher to result in ankle height shoes.

The foregoiru method and shoe upper may also be used to form womens and childrens shoes, wherein other portions of the upper may be cut out in any desired pattern.

A shoe having a single piece seamless upper of the type hereinebove described is extremely comfortable to wear because of the absence ofi seams or other devices tending to limit or restrict flexibility of the upper. The single piece seamless upper is also better adapted to shape itself to the wearers foot so that there is less constraint upon the wearers foot to adapt itself to any particular form.

The absence of a seam in the upper reduces the number of operations required to form the upper, and hence 4% greatly reduces the cost of the finished shoe. In addition to lower cost, the absence of the seam reduces the formation of folds or Wrinkles in the shoe upper and gives the shoe a sleek appearance which enhances its salability.

Alternatively, the seamless single piece shoe upper may be formed over a last which does not have a horn, in which case, the central opening may be dispensed with entirely during the forming operation and the leather simply formed at the fiorward or instep region in the same manner as in the heel region described above.

It is understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of preferred forms of this invention and that the scope of this invention is not to be limited thereto but is to be determined by the appended claim.

I claim:

The method of lasting a one piece seamless shoe upper, said method comprising placing a generally oval-shaped centrally apertured shoe upper leather blank over a shoe last with the aperture overlying only the forward upper portion of the last and the leather at the upper heel regions of the last overlying the rear upper portion of the last, securing the edges of the blank at the heel area thereof to the underside of the heel of the shoe last, stretching and lasting the blank upwardly over the heel regions and forwardly and downwardly over the remainder of the last, and fastening the edges of the lasted blank to the underside of the shoe last, the leather at the heel regions of the last which overlies the upper portion of the last holding the heel regions of the blank against downward movement along the last.

Sbicca Feb. 10-, 1942 Makovski Nov. 7, 1961 

